The tasty results of the BBQ Cookoff at the ZaZa hotel
The 2024 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo may still be a few months away, but participants in the culinary extravaganzas that accompany this massive Western-themed festival are already preparing in advance for culinary preparations and feasts.
Last week, the ZaZa Memorial Hotel hosted several chefs and pit masters to compete in a pre-rodeo slider competition to raise funds for Jasper County Go Texan, a non-profit organization located in Jasper County which offers scholarships to young people.
Jasper County Go Texan is no stranger to competition. They were the grand champions of the Houston Livestock Show and the World Championship Barbecue Rodeo in 2023. That’s a major score for any Texas barbecue team. And it wasn’t their first big victory. In 2022, they won second place in the brisket category at the HLSR BBQ Competition. With all these accolades, event guests expected delicious flavors and boy did they deliver.
The event took place on September 14 in the courtyard in front of the ZaZa Hotel, surrounded by luxury skyscrapers and a handful of adjacent high-end restaurants. The skies had cleared after a well-deserved rain, although the persistent winds blew umbrellas across the astroturf-covered lawn.
Chef and pit master Ara Malekian piled on the smoked brisket.
Photo by Lorretta Ruggiero
Joining Jasper County Go Texan in the competition were Ara Malekian of Harlem Road Texas BBQ, Joseph Quellar of JQ’s Tex-Mex BBQ and ZaZa Hotel chefs Brandon Wilhelm and James Boatfield. Each team was tasked with creating the best slider and the results were delicious.
I was lucky enough to be invited to judge the event for the Houston Press. Carolina Sanchez, host of The last drink on Fox 26 and local food blogger Amity Luo. Although we may have had some differences of opinion on sliders, Sanchez and I ultimately had the same favorite.
The rain stopped while ZaZa Hotel was being prepared.
Photo by Lorretta Ruggiero
We toured all four stations, accompanied by representatives from Endicott PR. In addition to flavor and appearance, judges were also asked to rate the name and history of each slider dish. Although we expected to enjoy four barbecue-style sliders, there were actually distinct variations in the plates served.
Austin Cocktail was on hand to refresh the attendees.
Photo by Lorretta Ruggiero
We were first introduced to the Jasper County Go Texan team, who had the barbecue truck on site. They also showed off belt buckle trophies from the Houston World Championship BBQ competition. The team put a lot of effort into the presentation of their slider, which was served with elote slaw. Pit master Trey Whitehead described the story of his Cowboy Cash slider with a nod to both the rodeo and the money raised for scholarships.
Trey Whitehead explains the story behind his winning plate.
Photo by Lorretta Ruggiero
The smoked ground brisket on the butter roll was very tender with only a trace of smoke. What really stood out from the slider was the composition of the ingredients. There was a little cheese, but I honestly couldn’t taste it because of the wonderfully subtle sweetness of the barbecue aioli and crispy fried onions on top. Sanchez ate half to save room for the rest of the judging, but I couldn’t resist. I ate all of mine with a few bites of elote slaw. Whitehead had suggested adding a little Valentina dressing to the slaw if we wanted a little heat, which I did. However, Valentina sauce isn’t that spicy for me personally, so it doesn’t add much heat.
Joseph Quellar appeared with his Tex-Mex starter from JQ.
Photo by Lorretta Ruggiero
Next, we tried Joseph Quellar’s “El Rey” starter. It was smoked and braised pork carnitas with jicama cucumber salad and avocado-serrano crema. He mentioned that the cream wasn’t spicy but I found myself wishing it was. The pork carnitas were shredded perfectly but didn’t get the smoky flavor I was expecting. The jicama cucumber salad added a nice freshness to the pile of juicy pork. Still, I wish Quellar would leave new route with his starter since I’ve heard rave reviews about his birria tacos. I’ll just have to wait for another pop-up from JQ.
Ara Malekian’s slider was loaded with flavors and ingredients.
Photo by Lorretta Ruggiero
We then head to Ara Malekian’s table. Sporting a cowboy hat, belt buckle, and facial hair straight out of a western, Malekian appears to be a native son of the Lone Star State, when in reality, the Armenian-born chef and pitmaster has led an international life. His classic culinary training is reflected in the brisket slider he serves with pickled red onions and coleslaw. It also contained a Marie Rose sauce that any Brit would recognize from its ubiquitous use on cocktail prawns in pubs and restaurants across the British Isles. Malekian’s brisket had the perfect amount of smokiness for me with the Marie Rose sauce taming it a bit. His brisket was the closest to what you would expect at a barbecue competition. I didn’t really understand the point of the tomato slice at the bottom, but the pickled red onions were a great foil to the smokiness of the meat, the portion of which was quite generous.
Chefs James Boatfield and Brandon Wilhelm take a quick break after slammin’ salmon.
Photo by Lorretta Ruggiero
Our final station was chef team Wilhelm and Boatfield from the ZaZa Hotel. They had a different take on slider cooking, serving a lemon-thyme salmon patty with golden raisin red onion jam on a grilled potato roll. He was associated with a side of Shiner Bock Poutine. Calling their starter Slammin’ Salmon, it was a nice contrast to the BBQ starters but the salmon was a little dry. He was saved by onion jam. However, the poutine was amazing. Shiner Bock sauce was drizzled over crispy fries with Texas goat cheese sprinkled on top, replacing the Canadian cheese curds. I’ve never been a fan of the harsh bite of goat cheese but Texas goat is much milder than the usual French version and this one goes wonderfully with the light sauce. It was definitely an elevated version of Canadian comfort food.
Team ZaZa’s poutine was full of flavor.
Photo by Lorretta Ruggiero
Guests at the event began to trickle in and most of them seemed to be well-off people, perhaps from the surrounding high-rise apartments or guests of the ZaZa Hotel. Rosé wine was being passed around and two young women were also handing out Austin cocktails. There were a few clothing stalls, Topped Hats and Upland Bespoke, selling trendy western clothing for those getting an early start on their 2024 Rodeo outfit.
Dana Vidal (Topped Hats), Kathryn Beach (Upland Bespoke) and Lisa Endicott (Endicott PR) are ready for the rodeo.
Photo by Lorretta Ruggiero
Ultimately, the event raised more than $6,000 for the Jasper County Go Texan organization. When the winners were announced, it was no surprise that Trey Whitehead and his Jasper County Go Texan team won both the judge’s choice and the taster’s choice. While all four entries were excellent, Whitehead’s slider composition had just something a little more in its overall composition and story.
And we’re excited to see more history when the World Championship Rodeo Houston’s Bar-B-Cue competition returns to Houston February 22-24.
